Chapter 45: An End to This Chapter
In the royal capital of the Kakin Kingdom, a cold, continuous rain was falling. The light, misty drizzle shrouded the spires of the city in a somber gray veil, a stark contrast to the festive mood that was supposed to be in the air.
The King's birthday was fast approaching. This grand, formal occasion demanded the presence of the entire royal line. Even the princes who normally spent their days scattered across the globe—some managing distant territories, others studying at foreign universities—were all summoned home. It was a rare and complete assembly, and they were now obligated to gather in the royal palace, their days and nights filled with a grueling, mind-numbing schedule of state banquets, political ceremonies, and formal activities.
Outside the window of the First Prince's private office, the rain streaked silently against the thick, leaded glass. Inside, the opulent room was deathly quiet. Babimaina stood at a perfect, military at-attention, his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed forward.
He faced the massive, ornate desk. Behind it sat First Prince Benjamin Hui Guo Rou.
The man was a lion in human skin. His sheer presence was a physical weight in the room—as deep and still as an abyss, as immovable as a mountain. He was calmly, but with a terrifying, predator's speed, reading through the mission report Babimaina had submitted.
With a flick of his thick, powerful wrist, he passed each finished page to the man standing at his side: his chief advisor, Balsamico, a bald man whose face was dominated by a severe scar. Balsamico, in turn, read each page with the same meticulous, silent focus. This process continued, page after page, until the final sheet was read and the report was finished.
Benjamin leaned back in his high-backed chair and closed his eyes, his massive form still. He processed the information in silence. At his side, Balsamico mentally sorted the intel, summarizing the new situation file:
Subject: Alan'tr'iel=Blanchett (One-Star Ruin Hunter) has confirmed contact with the tomb of King Zhenwu.
Subject: Nasti=Hui Guo Rou (Deceased). The associated Nen-curse has been contained and stabilized by Blanchett. It is assessed as no longer being a direct, active threat to the Hui Guo Rou bloodline.
Subject: The Discarded Consort (Oito). Confirmed deceased, along with her entire protection detail.
Anomaly: Babimaina's team reported a high probability of avian-based Nen surveillance during their operation on Ghost Soul Island.
Primary Target: The "bastard child" (Woble). Still unaccounted for. Status: Unknown—presumed living.
Benjamin's eyes snapped open. His voice was a low, dangerous rumble, like gravel shifting in a pit. "The Hunter License. You are certain it was not found on the bodyguard's corpse?"
"I am certain, Your Highness," Babimaina replied, his voice flat and unwavering. "There are three possibilities. One: he was not carrying it at his time of death. Two: it was lost or destroyed during his final engagement with Muser. Three: it was scavenged after his death, either by a wild animal or an unknown local."
Balsamico, the advisor, interjected, his voice a smooth counterpoint to Benjamin's gravel. "A Pro Hunter on a high-risk protection detail for a royal consort? He would never be without his License. We can dismiss 'One' as a statistical impossibility. The other possibilities are unverifiable. For now, let us proceed with the most logical and dangerous assumption: the License is in the hands of an unknown third party."
Benjamin's thick finger, a weapon in its own right, slowly scanned the lines of the report. It passed over paragraphs of text, finally coming to rest on two key phrases: "suspected avian-based surveillance" and "Pro Hunter 'Kai,' estimated age: five."
He tapped the paper.
"Let's use deduction," the Prince rumbled. "This boy, 'Kai.' Could he be the 'unknown third party' who found the License?" He paused, his gaze hardening. "Furthermore... is it at all possible that he is the missing bastard child?"
Balsamico considered this. "His observed Hatsu was Emission, a simple projectile. But that could easily be a feint. He could be an Enhancer... or..."
"Or a Manipulator," Babimaina said, his voice flat. "If he is, the birds that surveilled my team were almost certainly his."
"The world of Nen is vast," Balsamico mused, thinking the problem through from every angle. "A Hatsu that forces a newborn to age rapidly... it's not outside the realm of possibility. But who could have cast it? The consort was a normal, a non-user. A post-mortem Nen curse? The chances are infinitesimal. And even if the body was force-aged, it doesn't explain his observed intelligence, his tactical mind, his advanced grasp of Nen. That kind of maturity cannot be faked. Unless... unless 'Kai' himself is not a person, but a Conjured puppet... but that path leads to endless, paranoid speculation. We would never find an answer."
Benjamin held up a hand, cutting off the analysis. His decision was made. "We found no infant's corpse. Therefore, we assume the bastard is alive. We do not know where he is. Therefore, we assume he is an enemy."
His voice dropped, filled with a cold, absolute certainty. "Whether it takes ten years or twenty, he will come for this family. We will be ready for that battle. Always."
"Sir!" Balsamico and Babimaina responded in perfect unison.
"One last thing. Create new intelligence files. On this 'Kai', and on every other Hunter mentioned in Babimaina's report. We will track them. This matter is now concluded. I am leaving."
The First Prince rose. He was dressed not in his usual olive-drab military attire, but in a formal, black evening suit that strained to contain his almost inhumanly muscular frame. He strode to the door and pulled it open, only to find his path blocked by a tall, stunningly beautiful woman in a flowing, elegant ballgown.
This was the Second Prince, Camilla=Hui Guo Rou.
In the twisted, bloody tradition of the Kakin royal line, all of the King's children, regardless of gender, were known only as "Prince." There was no orderly primogeniture. There was only the "Succession War"—a ritualistic, no-holds-barred cull, to be announced at the King's pleasure. The last one standing... would be the new King.
"Well, this is a surprise," the Second Prince said. Her smile was all grace and cultured elegance, but her words were pure, unadulterated venom. "I didn't realize they allowed chimpanzees in the palace, brother. Are you trying to permanently soil the air before I inherit it?"
Benjamin's civilized mask shattered. His face contorted into a savage mask of rage. "Stupid, arrogant woman," he growled, his voice a low threat. "When the war truly begins... I will make you regret you were ever born."
He stormed past her, his massive shoulders brushing her aside. Balsamico followed in his wake, his expression unreadable. Outsiders, the advisor thought, are always fooled by the Prince's brutish exterior. They have no idea that he is a brilliant, cunning, and brutally patient strategist. He is the only true choice to rule Kakin.
'I already made my wish,' Camilla thought, her elegant smile never faltering as she watched him go. 'Why haven't all these disgusting 'princes' just dropped dead yet? This world is so dreadfully unfair.'
Her face a mask of perfect, royal boredom, she turned and glided into the grand ballroom.
Far from the Kakin capital, Ginta ("Sheep" of the Zodiac) sat in a nondescript hotel room, staring at the glowing screen of his laptop. He had been cross-referencing Hunter Association databases for over an hour.
No results for 'Kai', Pro Hunter.
He checked the list of successful candidates from the most recent exam. Nothing. He expanded the search. The last five exams. Nothing. He ran a deep, comprehensive search on all test-takers from the last twenty years.
Still nothing.
"It has to be an alias," Ginta muttered to himself, ripping open a large bag of potato chips. Crunch, crunch. "If he's really like Bisky... his entire appearance could be a Hatsu. A new body, a new name... it's a perfect mask. Without a DNA sample to run through the international servers, there's simply no way to find his real identity."
He paused, a chip halfway to his mouth. "Unless... his file is in the other database. The one only the Chairman and Vice-Chairman can access."
Even as a Zodiac, Ginta had his limits. He wasn't all-powerful. Ging's file was a perfect example—it was just a blank, mocking page. The Hunter Association wasn't a military or a corporation. It was a loose, chaotic collection of some of the most powerful and eccentric individuals on the planet, and it had no real power to force its members to do anything.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
"I could ask Biyou..." he mused. The "Boar" Zodiac. She lived on her laptop, a true information specialist and master hacker. "Her tech skills are worlds beyond mine..."
He washed the salty chips down with a long gulp of soda.
"...No. Better not." He and Biyou were on opposite sides of the Association's great political divide. He was a Conservative, part of Netero's old guard, who believed in preserving the Association's core traditions. She was a Reformer, part of the new wave trying to change the Association from the inside out. They weren't... "friends."
Ginta closed the laptop. He had to trust his instincts. The kid, 'Kai', was definitely hiding something big, but he hadn't seemed malicious. He'd even been good to Menchi, in his own, abrasive way.
He decided to let it go. He was a Poaching Hunter, not a Secret Hunter. He had his own work to do.
Meanwhile, on the large public ferry slicing through the waves toward the Ochima port city of Gerebo, Menchi was restless and bored.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!
She pounded on the thin metal door of Kai's small, private cabin.
"Kai! Come on out! Stop sulking in there! Shizuku and I are on the deck!"
A muffled, annoyed voice came from within.
"I'm training! I don't have time!"
...
Inside the small, dark cabin, Kai wasn't training.
He was sitting on the edge of his narrow cot, his face pale in the dim light.
He was clutching his chest, a sharp, sudden pain lancing through him. His brow furrowed as he felt a familiar, hot-and-cold sensation... that dreadful, parasitic "Death Aura"... seeping into his heart once more.
(End of Chapter)